Melissa Downes and Jess Lodge | The Ultimate Sacrifice

When Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train shot and killed two police officers and their neighbour at their remote property at Wieambilla in December 2022, the country was shocked. What could motivate these three people to plan and carry out such premeditated violence? As the days unfolded, and we heard about the lives of the killers, their motives gradually became clear – this was Australia’s first case of Christian terrorism. In this episode, we speak to media identity Melissa Downes and senior news producer Jess Lodge, to learn more about this dark episode, and some of the details they have learnt whilst making their podcast on the case, ‘The Ultimate Sacrifice’.

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Motive & Method is an expert-led Australian true crime podcast. Join Dr Xanthe Mallett and criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro as they unpack what really makes the offenders behind some of history’s most notorious cases tick, and also react and unpack crimes as they hit the headlines. You will also hear from victim survivors, investigators and advocates for change analysing motive, and method.

• No. of episodes: 88
• Latest episode: 2025-06-24
• True Crime

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